Palmer Love

PALMER — Just as synonymous with the breathtaking scenery that can be found walking on the Matanuska River bed underneath the George Palmer Bridge is some of the illegal activity that takes place there.

One group of concerned residents is working to change that, one paint brush at a time. Last fall, Mat-Su Borough School District Safety and Emergency Preparedness Manager Steve Paine organized an event to clean up trash and paint over profane graffiti under the bridge, where many people walk their dogs, ride their ATV’s or take pictures.

“This is a beautiful space where the people should be able to enjoy for the natural beauty, but you get distracted by the garbage and the graffiti,” said Janel Gagnon.

After the initial effort last fall, the sequel was an even bigger hit. Participation tripled and families came to the bridge to help clean up the area.

“Everybody loves Palmer to the point they want to see it beautiful and get rid of the ugly side of it,” Paine said.

Due to the incredible response both on Sunday afternoon in the form of dozens of families helping to pick up trash and paint graffiti and online, Paine has decided to change the name of the group to ‘Palmer Love,’ and take on cleanup and beautification projects all over the city.

“We will start doing these events wherever there is trouble and need,” Paine said.

Paine said that over 20 people had a paintbrush in hand at any given time during the cleanup on Sunday, and that over 20 gallons of paint were used to cover graffiti. There are certain spots where the spray painted artwork was left intact. Paine said he did not want to get into censorship, but that there was an internal discussion amongst volunteers about which graffiti to leave. Paine said that he had heard concerned residents that use the Jigglypuff painting as a meter for how high the river is, or artists who had painted tributes to lost loved ones. Paine said that with a blank canvas, new graffiti will likely appear, but he would like to see a movement from local artists organize work of graffiti art that all can appreciate. Paine had help from Palmer City Councilwoman Sabrena Combs in organizing the second cleanup. Combs brought her husband and two sons, and many families came to make an entire weekend of community service.

“Yesterday we did the Jim Creek cleanup with the kids so i was like let’s make a big weekend of it and give back to the community,” said Misty Donn.

Donn and her daughters enjoyed climbing up under the bridge and helping to clean up their community.

“That was kind of the reward because yesterday we picked up 12 bags of trash out at Jim Creek so I said today we get to paint and they were like, thrilled,” Donn said.

Donn’s 12-year-old daughter stood high above her on one of the beams, covering up spray painted expletives.

“It feels really good to give back to the community,” Alyssa said.

Paine lives near the bridge and has been prevalent in his efforts to ensure the safety of the area. Paine reached out to the Department of Transportation, who delivered yellow barriers late last Thursday. The barriers prevent vehicles from leaving the designated parking area. Paine alerted the Mat-Su Borough Assembly that he was successful in removing squatters who had made the area their temporary home. Paine said that the group picked up a significantly larger amount of garbage last fall, and sees that as a sign that the attention to the area is working. Negative uses from squatters that drop raw sewage or leave needles behind has been decreased with increased activism.

Derek Holland showed up and brought some horsepower with him, loading up paint in a trailer he pulled behind his four-wheeler. Not only did the community cleanup feature Palmer community service all-stars, but new faces as well. Bethany Smithers moved to town after last year’s cleanup, but enjoyed getting involved with her new community.

“It’s extremely welcoming. I think that everybody out here has one mission in mind and that is to keep Palmer as beautiful on the outside as it is on the inside,” Smithers said. “I love getting to participate in something as cool as this with people who care and are as passionate about this town as I am.”